New Delhi (NVI): At least 11 coal miners from Pakistan’s minority Hazara community were kidnapped and then shot dead by terrorists in Machh area of Balochistan today.
According to Police, the innocent miners were first kidnapped by the terrorists when they were on their way to work. They were then taken to nearby hills in Machh area and fired upon, reports The Express Tribune.
The labourers were taken to the Machh hospital in a critical condition where around 10 miners were in a serious condition initially. They succumbed to their injuries and the death toll rose to 11, the Pakistan news website reported.
Soon after the gruesome incident, heavy contingents of police, local administration and Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel cordoned off the area, the report said.
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan has condemned the incident while seeking an inquiry report from the authorities concerned urgently.
“Those who targeted these innocent coal miners do not deserve any concessions,” Khan said. He said that the only motive of attackers was to disturb Balochistan’s peace.
Meanwhile, Baloch freedom fighters have blame army-backed terrorists for the massacre, saying that the killings were sponsored by the Pakistan army.
“I condemn Brutal murder of Hazara coal mine labourers in Mach, Bolan. Such barbaric killings by #PakistanArmy sponsored Islamic extremists is aimed to divert world attention from Baloch Freedom Struggle and create an atmosphere for justifying military barbarism in Balochistan,” said Kamal Baloch, ex-secretary general of Baloch National Front.
I condemn Brutal murder of Hazara Cole mine labourers in Mach, Bolan. Such barbaric killings by #PakistanArmy sponsored Islamic extremists is aimed to divert world attention from Baloch Freedom Struggle and create an atmosphere for justifying military barbarism in Balochistan https://t.co/6zzmyROCUA
— Kamal Baloch (@Kamal_Baluch) January 3, 2021
Sher Mohammad Bugti, central spokesman of Baloch Republican Party also expressed deep condolences for the families of victims.
“I express my deep condoléance toward the family of victims who were murdered today in #Balochistan. Every half a kilometer there is an #Army check post how come these terrorist committed the massacre of innocent people and flee safely is huge question mark,” he tweeted.
I express my deep condoléance toward the family of victims who were murdered today in #Balochistan
Every half a kilometer there is an #Army check post how come these terrorist committed the massacre of innocent people and flee safely is huge question mark #StopHazaraGenocide
— Sher Mohammad Bugti (@SherM_BRP) January 3, 2021
The killings take place at a time when Pakistani army is using helicopter gunships, firing mortar shells and torching houses of civilians in Balochistan, in continued human rights violations.
The military operation by the Pakistan army, which started in several areas of Bolan on December 27, has been intensified, reports The Balochistan Post. Baloch National Movement (BNM) has condemned the “severe Pakistani brutalities” that are being faced by a vast area in Balochistan.
-ARK
